SNAPSHOT: Vehicle leasing footprint in Latin America

Of the 100 million or so in vehicles operating in Latin America (one in every 6 inhabitants), approximately 6 million (6% of the total) are corporate vehicles, and only about 600,000 (10% of the corporate car park) is under full-service leasing contracts.

Latin America’s full-service leasing penetration is significantly lower than more mature markets such as Europe where 11% of the total car park is corporate cars and 25% of these corporate vehicles is under full-service leasing contracts, according to Fleet LatAm Advisory Board president Pascal Serres.

New car sales, corporate vehicles, and full-service leasing, however, have been rising recently in Latin America. Considering new vehicle registration data from the last full-year (2017), a total of 6.2 million new cars were sold that year, increasing 7% year-over-year. Meanwhile, corporate car sales rose 19.4% and full-service leasing contracts rose 15%.

In Europe, corporate sales represents 36% of total registration and FSL 41% of corporate sales when it is only 20% and 15% respectively in Latin America, according to data from international mobility solutions company Moby-D.

Latam leasing company footprint

Latin America has approximately 600,000 long-term leasing contracts with some 530,000 identified cars.

The following is a snapshot of the main players for vehicle leasing and fleet management in the largest markets.

Approximately 250,700 long-term leasing vehicles have been identified in Latin America’s largest car park, Brazil. The largest long-term leasing player is Unidas which manages 72,000 vehicles, followed by Localiza Fleet Solutions with 48,000, RCI (32,000), ALD Automotive (26,300), Arval/Relsa (24,000), among others.

In Mexico, a total of 185,600 vehicles have been identified, and its largest player is Element with 45,000 vehicles. It is followed by Leaseplan with 31,700, Ariza (31,400), VWFS (28,300), TIP Mexico (25,000), among others.

Among the other larger markets in Latin America are Chile and Argentina with long-term leasing fleets of 43,500 and 20,400 vehicles, respectively. In Chile, the largest players are Hertz (13,000), Europcar (10,500) and Arval/Relsa (7,000), and in Argentina - of which most are fleet management - they are Edenred (13,000), RDA Renting (6,600), and AutoCorp (500).

International Alliances

In Latin America, there are two main international vehicle leasing alliances.

One is the Arval/Element alliance which manages a total of 90,300 vehicles in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. It is led by Element with 45,000 vehicles, followed by Arval/Relsa (34,000), RDA (6,700), and Mareauto (4,600).

The other is the ALD Automotive/Wheels Inc. alliance which manages a total of 62,555 vehicles in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. It is led by ALD Automotive with 55,800 vehicles, followed by Arrend (4,755), Wheels (1,500), and AutoCorp (500).